Smoke from several permitted burns filled the skies Tuesday morning across Santa Barbara County. 

“It does go on,” said Mike Eliason, spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. “You will see those ag burns during the winter months when burning is permitted.”

Eliason said the clear skies and lack of cloud cover made the smoke more visible, which was the case for a burn in the Goleta Valley sending up smoke that could be seen and smelled throughout the region.  

Permit burns are allowed within certain jurisdictions of the county and when the County Fire Department has transitioned to a Low Fire Season Preparedness Level based on moisture levels in the area. The permits are issued for burn piles only, and are not intended for burning standing vegetation.

Authorities do not allow burning on Sundays or holidays. 

Each day, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department announces on a recorded phone line whether permit burning is allowed. There is a public hotline to learn the permit burn status of the day, at 805.686.8177, and an interactive map of permits and permit fires currently burning.

The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District listed the air quality as good Tuesday, and updated monitoring results can be viewed on the agency website here.  

APCD spokeswoman Lyz Hoffman said the organization had received a handful of calls about the burns on Tuesday, and that people should use an air purifier at home to clean the air if they have concerns.

— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.